No fewer than 12,539 teachers nationwide sat for the May diet of the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) which began on Thursday and ended on Saturday.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, the Director of certification and Licensing at the TRCN, Dr Jacinta Ezeahurukwe, said the examination ensured that qualified teachers remained in the classroom across the country.

Ezeahurukwe revealed the impact of the exercise had widely been felt both nationally and internationally.

She said ‘no PQE, no staying in the classroom’ was enforced in 2019 with deadlines and this resulted in having many teachers coming out to obtain their PQE, stressing that the United Kingdom has picked Nigeria as one of those countries in Africa that they can allow their teachers to apply for Qualifying Teachers Status.

“Everybody knows that the teaching profession has gotten to a level that is highly recognised internationally and nationally.

“And everybody knows that you cannot just walk into a class now and say you are a teacher, you must be registered and licensed by TRCN for you to practice.

“Since 2014 TRCN has started this PQE and it has come to stay. Even internationally, they have recognised it and they have looked at the processes of examination,” Ezeahurukwe said.

The Director explained that the qualifying examination established foundational knowledge that a teacher must possess and exhibit as contained in professional teaching standards.

She stressed that for the May diet examination, Benue state came top with 1,416 as the highest number of registered candidates followed by Osun state with 1,410 registration.

Ezeahurukwe said that Cross River State came last with 59 persons followed by Ebonyi State with 69.